


got your number

by perfectlyrose



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-04 15:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16349369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perfectlyrose/pseuds/perfectlyrose
Summary: Shiro finds the phone number of the guy he had a crush on back in high school and decides to call it on a whim. He never expected Keith to still have the same number.“Who are you?” Suspicion is dripping from Keith’s every word.Shiro remembers his tendency to punch first and ask questions later when they were teenagers and is suddenly glad that he was out of physical range.“This is awkward,” he starts. “You might not remember me but I found your number again and I couldn’t resist the chance to possibly talk to you again even though it’s been forever and I can’t believe you still have the same number anyways and-”“Shiro?” The suspicion is gone, replaced with something close to wonder, close to disbelief.





	got your number

Shiro bites down on his lip as he stares at the piece of paper in his hand. It’s a scrap of old notebook paper, torn edges slightly discolored from the years it has sat in a box in the back of his closet with the rest of his childhood mementos. The numbers scrawled across it aren’t written in alignment with the lined paper and when he traces the last digit he can feel the indentation from the writer pressing down too hard with their pen.

The numbers would be nigh on illegible if Shiro hadn’t once known this particular handwriting as well as his own. Even without a name attached to the number on the page, he knows this was written by Keith.

He’s pretty sure he could have let the familiar string of numbers trip off his tongue from memory even ten years after the last time he dialed them.

Shiro considers for about thirty seconds before pulling out his phone and punching in Keith’s old number. They lost touch a decade ago after Keith moved away during his sophomore year of high school. Shiro’s always harbored a sense of regret about not trying harder to keep in contact with Keith, has tucked the feeling away in a corner of his heart much like Keith’s number was tucked away in a box.

He hesitates for a second before hitting call and putting the phone to his ear. His heart is pounding as the ringing fills his ear. There was no way Keith would still have the same number. Shiro’s switched numbers three times.

Still, he can’t help but hope as the ringing continues.

“If this is another fucking political call I will find a way to sabotage your candidate’s entire life.”

Shiro froze. This is not what he was expecting but against all odds, that was definitely Keith’s voice on the other end of the line. Deeper and rougher than it used to be, but still Keith and still full of all the irritation he fondly remembers.

“Keith?”

“Personalized calls. I’m moving up in the world,” the other man says.

“This, um, this isn’t a political call?”

“You don’t sound entirely sure of that.”

“I’m a little thrown off by being threatened by someone I haven’t talked to in ten years before I even got to say hello,” Shiro says. A smile is stealing onto his face and it’s so stupid. Keith isn’t even being friendly and he can still pull a smile from Shiro without effort. “I should at least be yelled at for things that I’ve done.”

There’s silence on the other end of the line.

“Keith?”

“Are you fucking with me?”

Shiro laughed. “I’m really not.”

“Who are you?” Suspicion is dripping from Keith’s every word.

Shiro remembers his tendency to punch first and ask questions later when they were teenagers and is suddenly glad that he was out of physical range.

“This is awkward,” he starts. “You might not remember me but I found your number again and I couldn’t resist the chance to possibly talk to you again even though it’s been forever and I can’t believe you still have the same number anyways and-”

“Shiro?” The suspicion is gone, replaced with something close to wonder, close to disbelief.

“Um, yeah. Hi, Keith. What gave me away?”

“Oh my god, you still ramble like an idiot when you’re nervous. It’s pretty distinctive. Also you’re one of the only people who’d call someone after ten years of radio silence.”

“Right, um, so how have you been?” Shiro winces as the words come out of his mouth. He carefully puts down the scrap of paper with Keith’s number before he crushes it in his fist.

.Keith laughs and it’s low and warm and Shiro feels like he’s fifteen again. “That’s what you’re going with?”

“I didn’t exactly think this through,” Shiro admits. “I called before I could convince myself not to.”

There’s silence for a moment and then, “Are you disappointed that I answered?”

“No!” Shiro rushes to assure him. “I just meant that I don’t exactly have a game plan for this conversation. What am I supposed to say to someone I haven’t talked to in ten years but still miss?”

“You miss me?” The words come out slow.

“Yeah. You were my best friend, Keith.”

“Why didn’t you call before now, then?”

Shiro lets out a long breath, the regret unspooling from its corner to swim through his veins. “I tried right after you moved away but you never picked up. I stopped calling after a couple weeks. Figured you had my number too and would call when you were ready.”

“Oh.”

“Keith, I… I know I already said I don’t have a gameplan for this conversation so you have to deal with the rambling but it’s really  _ really _ good to talk to you again. Even if you did start out by threatening me.”

“I’m never going to live that down, am I?”

“Nope,” Shiro says, giddy at the prospect of teasing Keith about it in the future, that maybe his future included Keith.

“Well, it’s good to hear from you, Shiro. We should-” he cuts off and Shiro can hear someone yelling in the background. “Sorry, that’s my roommate. I’ve got to go.”

“Okay. Talk to you later, then?”

“Yeah. You can text me or something. Bye Shiro.”

Shiro stares at the phone for a full minute after the call disconnects, wondering if he imagined the bit of fondness in Keith’s voice.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Dude, you’ve checked your phone ten times in the last seven minutes,” Matt complains, kicking Shiro in the knee for good measure.

He’s sprawled over Shiro’s couch, ostensibly there to remind Shiro that fun exists or something. Shiro had tuned him out when a text from Keith had come in.

He grabs Matt’s ankle before he can deliver another kick. “I do have friends other than you.”

“Since when? I’m hurt and betrayed, Shiro. Hurt and betrayed.” Matt yanks his foot free and sits up. “And from the way you’re checking that thing obsessively these days and grinning at it, I’d say you have a crush, not a new friend.”

Shiro can feel his face heating up and knows Matt will sense the blood in the water.

“You do! I can’t believe you haven’t told me already!” Matt crows. “Katie’s been giving me the dirt on watching her roommate crush on someone, which is hilarious because I was starting to think her roommate was part robot or something for all the emotion I’d seen from him. But now I can have stories of my own!”

“You know, telling me that you’re going to immediately spill my secrets is not the best incentive for me to tell you anything.”

Shiro types out a text while Matt mulls this over.

**To Keith [9:43 pm] :** I regret ever befriending Matt.

**To Keith [9:43 pm] :** Not really, but he’s being obnoxious.

**From Keith [9:44 pm] :** know the feeling. must be a matt thing, know an obnoxious matt too

**To Keith [9:45 pm] :** Definitely a Matt thing, then.

“Oh come on, Shiro. Does he at least know you’re interested?”

“No, and I’m not telling him,” Shiro says. “It’s… complicated.”

“Complicated like he’s dating someone else or complicated like you can’t get your head out of your ass?”

“Just complicated.”

How the hell could he explain the fact that Keith was the guy he’d crushed on in high school and then missed for years and then called out of the blue? He is both a familiar presence and a stranger and Shiro isn’t even sure where he is living these days or what he looks like now.

(He remembers the ink-spill hair that never stayed in place and a pair of eyes the color of the sky at dusk and a smile that could knock the breath out of him better than a punch. He thinks those things at least won’t have changed with the years.)

(He remembers the way it always felt like he was too big for his body when Keith was around, the way his heart got lodged in his throat when those starlight eyes met his, and the way he would ramble to him and hope that the right words would spill out to tell Keith what he meant to him.)

(He remembers that Keith never seemed to catch on to his feelings or return them.)

(Sometimes when he’s texting Keith he feels like he’s sixteen and again and half in love with the boy with more jagged edges than smooth. Shiro wonders how the years have weathered down those edges, if he’s still going to get cut when he reaches out.)

**To Keith [9:48pm] :** Doing anything fun tonight? Hot Friday night date or anything?

**From Keith [9:49 pm] :** pft no. watching some dumb sci-fi show with my roommate. she insists that my pop culture knowledge is pathetic

**From Keith [9:50 pm] :** i really don’t think i’ve been missing out

**To Keith [9:51 pm] :** What show??

**From Keith [9:51 pm] :** galaxy garrison

**To Keith [9:52 pm] :** I love that show!!!!

**From Keith [9:52 pm] :** nerd

**To Keith [9:53 pm] :** And proud of it :) :)

“Oh my god, you’re so gone on phone boy,” Matt groans. “Please tell me he’s cuter than your last crush.”

Shiro hesitates. “He’s beautiful,” he says finally, knowing it’s the truth despite not having seen Keith in a decade.

“You’re an irredeemable sap. I need alcohol for this.” Matt pushes himself to his feet and heads to the cabinet Shiro keeps his liquor in. “And you need alcohol so you’ll tell me about phone boy.”

**From Keith [9:55 pm] :** my roommate is threatening to disembowel me with a spoon if i keep texting during the show so, goodnight

**From Keith [9:55 pm] :** she also says to tell you that you have good taste in shows, which i personally think is debatable. i witnessed you nerd out about too many terrible animes

**To Keith [9:57 pm] :** Rude.

**To Keith [9:58 pm] :** Matt broke out the alcohol so it’s just as well. I can’t be trusted with my phone when there’s alcohol flowing. Night, Keith.

Shiro powers off his phone after sending the text and accepts the glass Matt presses into his hand.

“Spill,” Matt says, settling back on the couch crosslegged.

Shiro sips on his drink. “Not going to accept the explanation of complicated?”

“Not a chance in hell, my man. Who is he?”

“It’s this guy I knew back in high school. I, um, I found his number a couple weeks ago and called him.”

“Like, you looked up his number and just cold called him?”

“No, I found his number when I was cleaning out those boxes in my closet. I didn’t actually think he’d have the same number after ten years, honestly,” Shiro says, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Okay, this is weird, but your life is generally weird so we’ll go with it,” Matt says. “Did you have a crush on him back then, too?”

Shiro nods.

Matt lets out a low whistle. “Have you been nursing a ten year crush? That’s impressive, Shiro.”

“It’s embarrassing. I haven’t even seen him since high school!”

“This is some kind of soulmate shit. I better be the best man at your wedding.”

“You’ve already pointed out that I don’t have other friends to be your competition,” Shiro says with a laugh, hoping to shift the conversation.

“True, true. No one can live up to me. Now, I’m going to kick your ass at Mario Kart while you fantasize about your dream wedding to phone boy.” Matt makes a face. “What’s his name? Phone boy is a terrible nickname, even for me.”

Shiro drains the rest of his drink before answering. “Keith. His name is Keith.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**To Pidgeon [11:21 pm] :** pidge i have an important question

**To Pidgeon [11:21 pm] :** this is vital

**To Pidgeon [11:24 pm] :** answer your favorite brother katie

**From Pidgeon [11:25 pm] :** you’re my only brother which means you’re my least favorite

**To Pidgeon [11:26 pm] :** is your roommate still crushing on his phone friend???

**From Pidgeon [11:27 pm] :** this is what you interrupted my netflix marathon for?

**From Pidgeon [11:27 pm] :** you’re dead to me

**From Pidgeon [11:27 pm] :** also yes. it’s disgusting. i had to threaten him to make him stop texting mystery man and pay attention to the GG marathon

**To Pidgeon [11:28 pm] :** this has been going on for two weeks, right?

**From Pidgeon [11:28 pm] :** yes. get to the point.

**To Pidgeon [11:29 pm] :** this is incredible

**To Pidgeon [11:29 pm] :** i’m 95% sure that keith’s mystery man is shiro. our best friends are pining over each other

**To Pidgeon [11:30 pm] :** we have to get them together

Matt waits a few minutes for his sister to answer, concerned that it’s taking her so long. He grins when his phone lights up with an incoming call.

“Hello sister dear.”

“What the hell, Matt! You can’t drop that kind of information when I’m sitting right next to Keith and can’t scream about it!”

“How was I supposed to know the location of your roommate?” Matt complains.

“I told you we were marathoning Galaxy Garrison tonight.”

“Whatever. But seriously, Pidge,  _ Keith and Shiro _ .”

“How do you know that Shiro is Keith’s mystery man?” Pidge asks, voice soft but full of glee. Matt figures she’s trying to keep Keith from overhearing.

“Because I finally got Shiro to tell me about  _ his _ mystery man that he’s been texting for a couple of weeks. He went all gooey eyed and finally told me that his name was Keith. The timeline is too perfect.”

“We need confirmation before we do anything,” Pidge says. “How did they even meet? Keith isn’t telling me shit.”

“Apparently they knew each other like ten years ago when they were in high school. Shiro was crushing on him back then and based on the tragic look on his face and the way he keeps saying this thing with Keith is  _ complicated _ , he probably thinks that Keith doesn’t feel the same way.”

“Ugh. Keith goes all starry-eyed when he looks at his phone. It’s gross. He definitely feels the same,” Pidge says. “And so, they randomly got in touch after ten years?”

“Shiro found his old number and decided to try and call it and found out Keith never changed it. I have so much teasing material for my best man speech, it’s insane.”

“Okay, we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We still need to confirm that they are texting each other,” Pidge reminds him.

The siblings are quiet for a moment, plotting.

“Text me next time you see Shiro texting Keith. We can confirm through text timing.”

“If our best friends would actually talk to us, this would be so much easier,” Matt whines. “We could have gotten them through this pining stage without so much pain on our parts.”

“Shut up, you’re enjoying this,” Pidge says.

“I am. I can’t wait to see how this plays out.”

“They’re going to murder us when they find out we’re plotting to get them together.”

“Shiro wouldn’t hurt me,” Matt says.

“Keith would.”

“Okay, yeah, that’s fair. Luckily he is your roommate and not mine.”

Pidge snorts. “That’s not going to stop him.”

“Hopefully he’ll be so happy to be in Shiro’s arms that he’ll forget about murdering me.”

“Live in hope, Matt, live in hope.”

She hangs up and Matt has to admire her talent at getting in the last word. The student has definitely surpassed the master there.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Pidge walks up behind Keith while he’s texting on the couch.

“If you don’t stop trying to read over my shoulder I’ll only buy snacks you hate when I go to the store tomorrow,” he warns, not looking up.

“You wouldn’t.”

“I would.”

“Should’ve known I couldn’t out-ninja the ninja.” Pidge settles on the other end of the couch with a huff. She stares at him until he looks up at her. She grins. “Texting your mystery man? Did I make you go into withdrawal last night when I made you stop talking to him?”

Keith rolls his eyes.

“Come on, you’ve barely told me anything. I’m dying here, Keith.”

“Yes, I’m texting him. Although I would expect a better nickname for him from you.” He looks back down at his phone, a small smile flitting across his face as he tapped out a reply.

“You could just tell me his name.”

“Not happening. You’d start cyberstalking him.”

“Not if you told me not to!”

Keith shoots her a disbelieving look.

“Okay, fine, I would. But I wouldn’t share my info with you if you told me not to. Unless he was a major creep or something, I guess,” Pidge admits.

“Yeah. Not giving you his name. Besides, he’s not completely a stranger.”

It takes all of Pidge’s self-control to not sit bolt upright. Keith will definitely clam up if she shows too much interest in this particular line of conversation. “Oh? Have you met mystery man in person?”

“Kind of.”

“Keith, you’ve either met someone in person or you haven’t.”

He groans and slumps down in his seat, letting his phone drop into his lap. “You’re going to laugh at me.”

“Dude, this is not something I’d laugh at you about. Promise.” She crosses her heart so he knows she’s serious, prompting another sigh.

“Okay, the thing is I knew this guy ten years ago, back in high school. I haven’t seen him since then.”

“And the two of you randomly reconnected?” Pidge asks, wanting Keith’s side of the story. Her fingers were itching to text Matt confirmation that Shiro was Keith’s mystery man but listening to her friend is much higher priority.

“He found my number when he was cleaning or something and decided to see if it still worked. I thought it was another of those political calls and answered and may have threatened him.” Keith’s cheeks are turning pink.

“Classic,” Pidge says, nodding. “He didn’t hang up on you though?”

“Nope.”

She pushes her glasses up her nose. “So, did you have as big of a crush on him back in high school as you do now?”

Keith buries his face in his hands. “This is so dumb.”

“No it’s not, it’s cute.” Pidge scoots closer and rests her hand on Keith’s knee. “Hey, it’s not dumb. I’ve never seen you get so blushy and nervous about someone before. I’m sure he’s great.”

“He is, but it’s still dumb.”

“Why?”

Keith looks up and meets her eye for a moment before his gaze focuses over her shoulder. “I had the most obvious crush on him back then. I think literally everyone in the school knew and he never said anything about it.”

“Maybe he’s just oblivious?”

“I think he was just being nice or something. He definitely didn’t feel the same way and I’m pretty sure he’s just being nice now. Again.”

Pidge claps him on the shoulder. “Keith, my man, people don’t just randomly call a ten year old number hoping to reconnect with someone who was just a friend.”

“He does. It’s obnoxiously in character,” he says, lips tilting into a small smile.

“I think seeing him in person would answer so many questions,” Pidge says. “I’m going to guess you’ve filled out a bit since high school. Ten bucks says your mystery man forgets how to speak when he lays eyes on you.”

“Pidge…”

“Full on thirsty, can’t think or speak,” she says, doubling down. “Ask him out for coffee, prove me wrong.”

“What if he’s not interested at all?” Keith’s voice is uncertain in a way Pidge hasn’t heard in years.

She makes sure her voice is steady and certain. “Then you have coffee with a friend and you have the answer you’re looking for instead of agonizing over it.”

He’s quiet for a moment. “I don’t know where he lives. He could be on the other side of the country.”

Pidge knows a last-gasp argument when she hears one. “He might live in town. He’s at least in the same time zone if the way you two text all day is any indication.”

“If this doesn’t work out, I expect a full tub of the chocolatiest ice cream you can find,” Keith says after a few seconds.

“Heartbreak ice cream and whatever you want to watch on Netflix for a whole weekend,” Pidge promises. “But I think this is going to go better than you think.”

“Since when are you an optimist?” Keith asks as he picks his phone back up.

“Since I got tired of you mooning over your mystery man and going back to your emo roots.”

Keith rolls his eyes and then focuses on his phone. He taps out a message and then drops it.

“Done. Told him we should grab coffee if he lives in town.”

“I’m proud of you,” Pidge says. “Let me know what he says.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Keith stares down at his phone, mouth dry. “Pidge.”

“Yeah?”

“He lives in town.”

“Alright!” Pidge gives him a high five and then waltzes off to her room, leaving him to text Shiro in peace.

**From Shiro [6:54 pm] :** I can’t believe we live in the same city and haven’t run into each other!

**To Shiro [6:55 pm] :** it’s a big city….

**From Shiro [6:57 pm] :** But still a small world. ;D

**To Shiro [6:57 pm] :** ….i hope you have that lion king song stuck in your head for days. it’s what you deserve.

**From Shiro [6:59 pm] :** Rude. So, would Saturday work for coffee? Early afternoon?

**To Shiro [7:01 pm] :** yeah, that works for me. do you know altea brews?

**From Shiro [7:02 pm] :** Yes!! That’s one of my favorite spots. Allura is the only person I trust to make chai lattes. Told you it was a small world.

**To Shiro [7:02 pm] :** she’s the one with the white hair right?

**From Shiro [7:03 pm] :** Yes. Matt had a crush on her way back which is why we became regulars at the place. Now we’re all friends and tease Matt mercilessly.

**From Shiro [7:04 pm] :** Sometimes we get free pastries, it’s the best.

**To Shiro [7:06 pm] :** saturday at 1?

**From Shiro [7:06 pm] :** Perfect! I can’t wait to see you :) :) :)

Keith grins down at his phone, hope finally flaring bright behind his sternum as he looks at Shiro’s excessive smiley faces. 

**To Shiro [7:07 pm] :** looking forward to it too

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Matt, which shirt should I wear?” Shiro says into his phone, staring at the contents of his closet that were now strewn across his bed.

“Are you going to insist on wearing one of your vests?”

“They are warm and comfortable and yes I am.”

Matt sighs. “That blue-silver shirt and the black vest. And wear those dark jeans I got you for Christmas. They make your ass look good.”

“Am I overthinking this?” Shiro asks. He roots through the pile of shirts until he finds the one Matt mentioned. He’s already set out the black vest since it’s his favorite.

“Yes. So much.”

“What if he’s still not interested? This could be a friendly meet up.” Shiro puts the phone on speaker and starts to change. “He might not like who I am now.”

“Shiro, he’s going to take one look at you and melt into a puddle on the floor. And he seems to still like you just fine if he invited you out to coffee and keeps texting you.”

Shiro stills in the middle of buttoning his shirt and looks down at the gleaming silver of his right hand. “I haven’t told him about the accident. He doesn’t know about the arm.”

“If that bothers him then he isn’t worth a damn second of your time,” Matt says firmly. “Now, focus back on all the fluttery feelings.”

“Yes sir.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Keith can feel his heart hammering and he hasn’t even left the apartment yet.

“Pidge, I can pick out my own clothes,” he grouses, even as he approves her choice.

“I’m winning those ten bucks. Dude is going to swallow his tongue.” She shoves a pair of jeans in his arms. “Wear that ridiculous red jacket you love so much.”

“It’s not ridiculous,” he argues.

“It’s a cropped jacket which makes it inherently ridiculous. But it also gives off gay vibes which is good and somehow makes your legs look even longer.”

“You’ve put way too much thought into this.”

“I’m  _ helping _ .”

“Yeah, yeah. Scram, I need to change.”

He waits until she’s almost out of the room to speak again. “But thanks Pidge, I really do appreciate it.”

“I know.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Shiro is fifteen minutes early. He debates for a minute whether to go ahead and order or if he should wait outside. Allura glaring at him through the window makes his decision for him.

“I’ve already got a chai latte rung up,” she says when he walks in the door, the little bell announcing his entrance. Her smile is a little too wide to be reassuring. “Matt called me and told me you have a date.”

Shiro groans. “It may or may not be a date.”

“Schrodinger’s date, got it. Who’s the lucky guy?”

“His name’s Keith. He’s actually the one who suggested to have coffee here so you might know him.”

“Oooh, I think I know who you’re talking about. He knows Lance.”

“How is Lance?” Shiro asks, raising an eyebrow as he hands over his card to pay for his drink.

Allura blushes. “Good, he’s good.”

He grins. “Going to ask him out finally or are you still making him sweat it out?”

“I’m still thinking about it,” she says. “Now, go claim that corner table before someone else does. I’ll bring your coffee over.”

“Everyone is so bossy today,” Shiro grumbles.

Allura laughs. “We’re always bossy, you’re just usually worse than we are.”

Shiro rolls his eyes and goes to sit down where he was told to. He bounces his leg and checks his phone to see if Keith has texted. He hasn’t, which is expected. There are still ten minutes until he’s supposed to be here.

Allura brings him his drink and gives him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before walking away. He takes a sip of his latte but barely tastes it. His fingers beat out a nervous beat on the table as he wonders how much Keith has changed. He thought Keith was beautiful back when they were teenagers and he fully expects that ten years won’t have altered his opinion on that particular fact.

He looks down to check his phone again. Five minutes. He opens his texts with Keith, just to double check the time they’d agreed on and is in the middle of scrolling up when the bell over the door rings.

Shiro looks up and his mouth goes dry.

Standing just inside the door is Keith. The years look good on him. He’s taller and his hair is a little bit longer than he used to wear but it’s definitely Keith. Shiro lets his gaze rake over the man, lingering on the way the cropped red jacket makes his shoulders look broad and his waist look tiny. His eyes crawl over the endless length of leg wrapped in a pair of jeans that look painted on.

Shiro wants to peel them off with his teeth.

Keith looks over at him and Shiro is pretty sure he feels his soul ascend to the astral plane. He’s so fucking gorgeous and so incredibly his type that Shiro feels specifically targeted by the universe. 

It’s still up in the air whether he is going to thank or curse the universe for this fact.

He stands and walks towards Keith.

“Hey,” Keith says when he gets close enough. His smile is soft and shy and Shiro is going to pass out if this keeps up.

“Hey. You look, um, you look really good, Keith. It’s good to see you.” Shiro says. He’s proud of himself for not stammering.

Keith’s smile shifts into something more teasing. “You’re rambling again, Shiro.”

“Shut up.” He pitches forward and pulled Keith into a hug.

The moment Keith is wrapped up in Shiro’s solid warmth, he gives up any hope of staying rational. This singular experience is the best thing to happen to him in possibly ever and he is going to savor it.

Shiro smells like wool and spice and Keith doesn’t want to pull away.

When Shiro’s grip loosens, Keith steps back and looks up at him. “It’s good to see you too, Shiro. And you’re, um, you’re also looking good.”

It is quite possibly the understatement of the century.

Shiro is built and somehow makes a sweater vest look hot and it’s just completely unfair. The white shock of hair hanging over his forehead is new, as is the scar across his nose, but his eyes are the same.

Keith fell in love with those eyes and the smile that is currently spreading over Shiro’s face ten years ago. He’s pretty sure he’s falling again right now.

For a moment, all he can think is Pidge better have that ice cream ready if this goes bad, but then a blush spreads across Shiro’s cheeks and Keith feels hope start to bloom again.

“Did you already order?” Keith asks.

“Yeah. Kinda got here early,” Shiro admits. “Allura saw me loitering outside and made me come in and order.”

Keith laughs. “I’ll go get my order in and meet you at the table.”

Shiro looks over Keith’s shoulder and rolls his eyes. “I think she’s already in the middle of making your drink. You might as well come sit down.”

He shrugs. “Didn’t know they knew my order but alright.”

Keith admires the way Shiro’s jeans fit as he follows him to the corner table.

Shiro waits until they’re sitting down and he can fidget with his latte before speaking again. “I know I already said this, but it’s really good to see you again.”

“I’m glad I never changed my number,” Keith says. He opens his mouth to try and figure out how to tell Shiro how glad he is that they’ve reconnected but Allura shows up before he finds the words.

“Caramel mocha,” she says, setting the drink in front of Keith with an overly bright smile. “And a sampler plate of pastries, on the house.”

She flashes another smile and then disappears.

Keith looks between his drink and Shiro, brows furrowed. “That was… weird.”

Shiro groans and drops his eyes to his half-full mug, feeling the nerves flutter through him. “Matt may have called and told Allura that I had a date. She thinks she’s helping.”

“I’m getting free coffee out of it, so I can’t complain,” Keith says. He is faintly worried that Shiro might be able to hear the way his heart is pounding. He waits until Shiro looks back up at him. “Thanks for agreeing to the date, Shiro.”

Shiro’s eyes go wide and hopeful. He takes a deep breath. “I’ve wanted to take you on a date since the first time I saw you,” Shiro admits.

Keith feels the words like a punch. “No way.”

Shiro’s smiles and reaches out to put a hand over one of Keith’s. “It’s true.” He huffs out a laugh. “I had the biggest crush on you.”

“You idiot, why didn’t you ever tell me?” Keith asks, voice edging close to a whine. “Literally everyone in our class knew I was gone over you.”

Shiro sits up straight like he was just shocked by a live wire. “You were?”

“Um, yeah. I wasn’t particularly subtle.”

Shiro grins. “So, this is a real date, right? Ten years later than when we could have started going on dates?”

“Yeah.” Keith squeezes his hand.

Shiro almost jumps again when he realizes that he’d reached out to Keith with his metal hand.

Keith catches the panicked look flit across Shiro’s face as he looks at their hands. “The metal is a cool look,” he offers, trying to stay nonchalant. He’s curious but he’s more than willing to wait for Shiro to be ready to share, one day. “Do you actually feel pressure and everything?”

Shiro nods. “Pressure and temperature, to a degree.”

“That’s really cool,” Keith says with a decisive nod. “I work with enough engineers to be thoroughly impressed.”

Shiro recognizes the opening to change the topic and takes it gratefully. “What do you do?”

“I work for a small aerospace company,” Keith says. “I help build a lot of things that go really fast and then help test them out.”

Shiro chuckles. “You did always like speed.”

“What about you? What are you up to these days?” Keith asks. He picks up his drink and takes a sip.

“Mostly consulting for aerospace companies, actually,” Shiro says with a laugh. “I keep telling you, it’s a sm-”

“Do not finish that sentence, Shirogane,” Keith warns.

“Fine, fine. But it’s true.”

They spend a few minutes swapping stories about work and digging into the pastries, both of them relaxing as they fall into a easy rapport.

Keith laughs around a mouthful of food. “Pidge would absolutely murder anyone who tried that,” he says.

Shiro freezes. “Wait, Pidge?”

“Yeah, my roommate. Pretty sure I’ve told you about her,” Keith says, puzzled.

“You never mentioned her name. But Pidge? As in Katie Holt, Pidge?”

“You know Pidge?”

“I’m good friends with her older brother,” Shiro says, starting to connect the dots.

Keith isn’t far behind. “Wait, the Matt you’ve mentioned is Matt  _ Holt _ ?”

Shiro nods.

“There’s no way they didn’t put all this together,” Keith says. “Pidge didn’t push for your name like she normally would.”

“And Matt was far too chill about everything,” Shiro agrees.

“I’m going to kill both of them,” Keith says.

“It’s Pidge and Matt, this could have gone so much worse,” Shiro points out. “Like, so much worse.”

Keith considers this. “You’re right. I’m still going to scare the shit out of Matt.”

“He probably deserves it.”

Shiro’s smile tilts into something mischievous. “I think at this point I can safely say it’s a small world.”

Keith closes his eyes. “I hate you so much.”

“Keith,” Shiro whines, drawing out his name.

He opens his eyes and is about to reassure Shiro when his gaze zeroes in on a security camera in the corner that seems out of place.

“Shiro, you’re in here a lot, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Don’t turn around and look, but is there usually a security camera in the corner behind you?”

Shiro thinks about it. “No.”

“Want to bet that the Holts recruited Allura and set this camera up?”

“They definitely did,” Shiro says, rubbing at his temples. “Allura directed me over to this table when I came in.”

“Our friends are the worst.”

“Want to lose the Big Brother set up and go get some food?” Shiro offers. “We can plan our revenge for them spying on us and not introducing us at any point before now.”

“Will this count as a second date?”

Shiro shrugs. “Sure.”

“Good, because I have no qualms about making out at the end of a second date,” Keith says with a lazy smirk.

Shiro turns bright red and he thinks he manages to stutter out an answer but he’s not entirely sure it is coherent.

Keith stands and holds out a hand to Shiro. He takes it, twining their fingers together. Keith flips off the camera and then leads Shiro out the door to start their second date.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**From Keith [3:32 pm] :** tell your brother that he should run the next time he sees me

Pidge cackles and leans over to show Matt the text from Keith. “Told you he was going to take it out on you.”

“Why do you get to be off the hook?” Matt whines.

“Because I’m his favorite Holt sibling by far.”

“I bet Shiro gives you his Disappointed ™ look.”

Pidge makes a face. “That’s almost worse than Keith potentially trying to murder me.”

Allura sticks her head into the back room of Altea Brews where the Holts had set up the date surveillance. “They’re gone. Looked like the date went well though!”

“We’ll make sure you’re invited to the wedding,” Matt says. “I already called being Shiro’s best man.”

“Did they already know each other?” Allura asks. “They seemed more comfortable with each other than most people on first dates are.”

Pidge laughs. “It’s a long story, Allura.”

Matt nods. “Soulmate shit, I swear.”

She raises an eyebrow at them. “I want the full story after closing. Now, out of my store room.”

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on tumblr [@perfectlyrose](http://perfectlyrose.tumblr.com) or twitter [@LionessNapping](https://twitter.com/LionessNapping)


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